-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- F I D O N E W S -- Volume 15, Number 12 23 March 1998 +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | The newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet community | "FidoNews" | | _ | 1-209-251-7529 [1:1/23] | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editor: | | | (*) | \ )) | Zorch Frezberg 1:205/1701 | | |__U__| / \// | | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: FidoNews Editor 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> editor@fidonews.org | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of FidoNews or the internet gateway FAQ | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Business, as Usual...with Alterations Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 2. ARTICLES ................................................. 3 Passing thoughts ......................................... 3 New URL For WWW-FidoResource ............................. 4 3. COLUMNS .................................................. 5 Cry Havoc, and Let Loose The Puppies of War .............. 5 4. FIDONET HISTORY .......................................... 7 5. WE GET EMAIL ............................................. 12 6. NOTICES .................................................. 13 Future History ........................................... 13 7. FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ...................................... 14 FidoNews PGP Public-Key Listing .......................... 14 8. FIDONET BY INTERNET ...................................... 15 9. FIDONEWS INFORMATION ..................................... 17 FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 1 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= Due to a program error that didn't appear in the test runs, but then decided to appear on publication, there was no Editorial last week. Given some of the things that happened within 24 hours of the issue being published, it gave some time to reflect a bit more on these. Scary news out there...and no one seems to want to talk about it. There comes a point in any organization where the future is determined by either the goals of the group as a whole, or by a small cadre of people who have a 'vision' of the way things should be. Too often, however, the two factions clash, and it is the helpless villagers, or sysops in this case, who will end up bearing the brunt of the struggle. The Z2C has openly challenged the process of "One Zone, One Vote" in the coming IC Election, more than casually mentioning that the fact of Zone 2 being in control of 65% of FidoNet, and insinuating, from what is said, that Zone 2 should have a 'larger' role in choosing the IC if not actually controlling that choice. I would also point out why the lessons of history in this regard should be more apparent to Zone 2 than most...but I think I will refrain. Already, there is a 'complaint' that Zone 1 members are "ruining" the access to the ZCC-PUBLIC echo...but it would seem that this is more geared at the "lack of respect" tone of the messages. That, and the point that no rules have been posted for that echo, either. If you can't get access to ZCC-PUBLIC, ask "Why not?" Notably absent is the Z2C's weekly "doomsday countdown" for the nodelist for which I have received a complaint from him. While he admits to having posted it publicly in many echoes worldwide, it appears that the FidoNews was not to post it unless he himself sent it in, with his specific permissions and consent. As of publication time the past two weeks, he has not sent it, either by NetMail or by E-Mail; thus, it will not be included per his objections. So much for 'open communications'. Strange, also, that the issue of copyrights comes in so conveniently for him now, no? In any event, and in response to a number of complaints I have received both long before I became Editor and since that time, I have chosen to now use a PGP-signature to insure the integrity of each issue of FidoNews. The complaints were that several Region and Net level coordinators seem to be removing articles that did not "fit in" with a particular FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 2 23 Mar 1998 view that they held. Copies were sent to me that indicated anything from removal of the printer breaks to whole articles being removed. Think of it as a 'certified uncensored issue' seal of approval. To properly check the signature, remove five (5) spaces from the beginnings of the PGP-signature lines. This is due to a formatting matter in the publishing program that can't be presently modified. Last issue's article by Jim Cannell, the administrator of the SecureMail services in FidoNet, was intended to 'de-mystify' the use of PGP encryption and make it more accessible to the general public. As always, there is the issue posting at http://www.fidonews.org, or at my personal site at http://209.77.228.66/fidonet.html . Would that we could all live in a world where this was unnecessary, but there are those who live to turn our hobby into their existance. Other than the usual, this issue of the FidoNews is remarkably light. Some updates to the InterNet sites, and a few more articles. ...and an interesting E-Mail from Romania. Remember, the FidoNews is what _you_ make of it. -zf- ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 3 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= ARTICLES ================================================================= Passing thoughts by David Hallford As I take a well deserved vacation my mind started to dwell on how I would do things in Fidonet. These aren't the best ways or the smartest ways, or even the correct ways. Just the way I would do it. ELECTIONS: Hmmm, a good thought on the surface but what is the real consensus within Fidonet. No one knows. Each side of the dispute is so busy arguing for their view point that no one has taken the time to check with the SysOps. Why not have the ZC's task the RC's to task the NC's to poll their networks and report back by node number who wants or doesn't want elections to be the standard. If elections win the vote of the Sysops then use the same procedure to determine if it should be by popular vote or representation (ie the Sysop's elect the NC/NEC, the NC/NEC elect the RC/REC, the RC/REC elect the ZC/ZEC) and what the length of each term should be. If the Sysops want the appointment route to be the standard, then let it. This will end a lot of the bickering current within Fidonet. ECHOPOL: Why? It seems to be working to me. It's now a cooperative effort between moderators, routers, and SysOps. A bad moderator gets ignored, a bad router gets routed around, and a bad SysOp gets a feed cut. No rules or regulations to fight over. Let's face it, we have been arguing over Policy 4.07 for 10 years or so. There are still folks who interpret it their way even in the face of rulings by the ZC. Why add more regulations to argue over? At the most I would have a policy that defined the positions and terms used but granted no additional power to anyone. ECHOMAIL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS: The more the merrier, I say. Those that serve the folks will survive. Those that don't - won't. I can't think of a better way to regulate them! EXCESSIVELY ANNOYING BEHAVIOR (in echomail): Why not? A lie is a lie if it's in echomail or netmail. Character assassination can be worse in an echo than it can be in netmail. I would like it to be possible to file a Policy 4 complaint against folks who accuse others of being someone elses puppet (or clone) without proof. Most of us think for ourselves, so why do we think others don't? Just because they agree with someone on an issue doesn't make them puppets. I agreed with some things that Ho Chi Minh said. That sure doesn't make me his puppet since I would have gladly put a bullet in his brain had the opportunity ever presented itself. NICE FOLKS (and those not so nice): Some people cause me to stop and think over a position or stance I have taken. Some nicely and some not so nicely. It doesn't matter because I owe them thanks for causing me to think. Bob Satti was the nicest and Tom Cole was FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 4 23 Mar 1998 the least nicest, but I owe them both my thanks. I will not say who I feel are nice or not nice, but I would like to thank the following for a fun 11 years: Bob Satti, Bob Kohl, Bob Moravsik, Bob Seaborn (geez how many Bobs are there?) Martin Belcke, Brenda Donovan, Russ Edwards, David Bowerman, Bruce Bodger, John Souvestre, Mike Murray, Ruth Argust, Zorch Frezberg (as if I would forget him ), Andy Brown (in fact all of the NECs past and present in R10), Tom Cole, Joe Jared, George Peace, Ken Wilson, Adrian Walker, John Pfieffer, Dennis Travis, Gerry Calhoun, the dwarves in Mindless Chatter and Drivel, and all the folks who take the time to read the Fidonews and participate in Fidonet on a vocal level (whether I agreed with you or not). As the man said "Goodbye and thanks for the fish". I liked that one and think Fidonet should adopt it as the 'official' goodbye. Goodbye, and thanks for the fish! ###30### ----------------------------------------------------------------- New URL for the World-Wide-Web Fidonet Resource by Lee Kindness, wangi@earthling.net Just a short announcement - The World-Wide-Web Fidonet Resource is now at the URL below: http://travel.to/fidonet This location will redirect you to the current 'real' home of the WWWFR, which is currently is still http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html but is likely to change in the future. If you use the new URL the change will not be noticed... I'm also planning a number of changes to the site, I fancy getting my hands dirty with a bit of Perl. If I want to add cgi-bin enhancements then i'll be looking for a new home for the page - anyone care to offer a UNIX account with telnet/ftp access? ;) Cheers, -- - Lee Kindness ------------------ wangi@earthling.net - - http://come.to/kindness -- http://travel.to/fidonet - ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 5 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Dear Editorbeing, This article is submitted by Charles Herriot (163/110) who managed to rescue Doc Logger from a pack of ravening Echopol police. Apparently, Logger's penchant for BBSing to the accompaniment of bagpipe music was not only in bad taste, but was also a serious Fidocrime. Roll da' flic Zorch.... Dear Reverend Visage, The fact that you have been ignoring your flock in their hour of need has been made more obvious in recent days. Despite the hopes that Echopol evangelists could be eradicated shortly after Smallpox, the usual suspects are at it again. It seems that a new version of Echopol is being bruited by Bob Kohl. He doesn't seem to understand that arming small intellects with more policy is certain to engender many unhappy years of "Policy complaints" with the document being used to torture unsuspecting Fidoserfs. A tadge more alarming is the fact that Bob has expressed concerns about the content of echos which he feels need to be controlled by policy. As the good and decent people that we are, all appropriate energy should be devoted to teaching Mr. Kohl where to find the button on his keyboard so that he can skip past the messages that would otherwise make him cry. It boggles the mind to imagine what the socially maladroit will do with a new blunt instrument in the form of Echopol. If a fellow like Gary Gilmore can screech from his perch in New Zealand about a nodelisting in North America, think of what fun his ilk will have if given a chance to whine about what is written in the echos. I wish Bob no joy at all in his Echopol endeavours and may the farce be with him. All six loyal readers of the Snooz might have noticed the ominous heading last week: 'The Coming Civil War" and been mightily puzzled that it was followed by a puff piece lauding the sainthood of our ZC, Bob Satti. Only the unkind will snicker at the irony that the same gushy accolades were contained in a letter wherein the author says good-bye to Fidoland. I think perhaps what was being hinted at in the Civil War reference was the ongoing debate among the ZC elflords about who should be kicked upstairs to the IC position. Ward Dossche, the ZC2, has apparently asserted that the ZC's should be granted weighted voting according to how many Fidoserfs they "rule" in their fiefdoms. I haven't noticed FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 6 23 Mar 1998 that Ward is insisting that he go whole hog with his democratic sedition and have *all* Fidoserfs actually vote, but he gets at least half marks for effort. Mr. Dossche's excitable detractors are predicting ruin and damnation should his concepts prevail. Naturally, the Z1C, Bob Satti has expressed grave concerns about conducting the debate in public. Evidently, Satti is not the least bit fond of having his machinations scrutinized by those he presumes to rule. On that cheery note, I'll segue into my Chautauqua which is as much addressed to Satti as it is to all five of the other regular Snooz readers. I'd like to lead off with a quote from Walter Lippmann in an essay entitled "The Indispensable Opposition." "The opposition is indispensable. A good statesman, like any other sensible human being, always learns more from his opponents than from his fervent supporters. For his supporters push him to disaster unless his opponents show him where the dangers are. So if he is wise he will often pray to be delivered from his friends, because they will ruin him. But, though it hurts, he ought also to pray never to be without opponents; for they keep him on the path of reason and good sense." So, as one of Mr. Satti's most fervent opponents, might I tender some advice with respect to the creation of Echopol? If the policy document is created, and if the framers are permitted to presume authority for it or vested by it, there will be less than a year elapsed before another *C vs. *EC battle erupts. There will also be legions of trolls who attempt to use the document for reasons which have nothing to do with the smooth flow of mail. The ZC's netmail will runneth over with new policy complaints, and if Satti remains true to his past decisions, he'll amaze the Fidoserfs with more amazingly dumb decisions. I must go Visage. Your secretary is in grim shape. She claims that Bill Clinton didn't try to hug her. "Am I the only one?" she bleats, over and over. As a gesture of our concern for her, I suggest we send her on a skiing holiday with either the Kennedy or the Bono families. Regards, Furlang Island Academy of Squid Ballet, Furlang Island, South Pacific ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 7 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= FIDONET HISTORY ================================================================= Originally published Vol.11 No.26 (27-Jun-1994) (with some '98 revisions by the author) POLICY 33.5 - THE FINAL INSULT Charles Herriot (1:163/110) (this had to be done, Doc, now where's my Ibogaine?) 1. TITLE: (amateur policymongers probably don't realize the importance of leading off with at least one "tit"... capture their imaginations and their hearts and minds will follow) The title of this document shall be: "Policy 33.5 - The Final Insult, otherwise known as: "Mom! Mom! He/she dissed me and I'm gonna whump his/her sorry ass with this policy document until he/she either apologizes or else gets locked in a room and is forced to listen to John Denver singin' 'Rocky Mountain High' until her/his ears bleed." 2. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to create more policy. The Region has recognized quite clearly that if more policy were created then, incredibly, we'd have more policy. If we had more policy, then we would definitely need even more of it to expand upon the previously created policy. Hell, in no time at all, this policy stuff would be breeding on its own and provide sustenance to unemployed cod fisherman. 3. DEFINITIONS: AcetyleneMail: The polite staple of inter-sysop communication which must include, at a minimum, at least one demand that the recipient engage in an act of self-replicating his/herself. It is entirely appropriate to substitute the preceding with a suggestion to the recipient that they engage in an act of procreation with anyone having the surname: "Off." Cod: Humiliated trout. Not to be confused with the traditionally refrain of grunt sysops to *C-beings which loosely paraphrases into: "Who named you Cod?" Beer: The official sysop monetary unit. Debts can be satisfied upon payment of these units, and *C-beings are obligated to buy grunt sysops copious quantities of this particular resource. FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 8 23 Mar 1998 CRPs: Mistakenly identified as "Cost Recovery Plans", these are really guileless attempts to extort money from Grunt Sysops. The money is expended on fast women and loose cars. Echomail: A system of distributing the latest gnarly-rad path lines, and logoff macros, by "K00L D00DZ" which are rivaled by Sea Slugs for their intrinsic wit. Also, any quote of the preceding is considered "echomail" and the high fibre content helps to improve echomail regularity. Humungous amounts of megabytes of this stuff are sporadically sent throughout the Region. All of this echomail was spawned by one message which was entered in 1985 and everyone has been quoting the hell out of it ever since. EchoPol: Any policy document which is written by confused and bored trolls who don't realize that putting policy into the hands of children will almost always lead to self-inflicted injuries. Grunt Sysops: A strange infestation which has plagued Fidonet for years. No one has figured out what sort of toxic spray would be effective in eliminating them. The freshly hatched sysop-beings, shortly before mastering the basic skills of mailers and echomail distribution, plaster messages all over the known universe announcing yet another new net.. one that promises some feature so outstanding that it probably isn't replicated in more than 500 of the existing 600 Fidonet echomail areas. Hubs: Dwarf-like creatures who live in tinfoil lined, darkened caves, where their multi-node, Lan-based, 69 gazillion baud modems, poot forth echomail. Hubs are recognizable from the fact that their plastic pocket pen protector mounted pagers beep whenever they receive an inbound mail packet. Hubs secretly dream about bringing the entire Sports Illustrated Swimsuit modeling group to gaze at the diode arrays winking from every corner of their kleenex-piled rooms. NECs: Pituitary challenged Hubs who can often run a mailer for almost a whole day without having the system crash. NECs spend hours explaining batch files to bored and miserable people everywhere. NECs have LAN work-stations in their bathrooms where they do their best work. Nets: Nets are largish containment devices used to bag various *Cs who have run amok. These are not to be confused with "Network" which is also herein defined. Netwar: An exchange of pleasantries between sysops culminating in at least a dozen threats of policy complaints, filled diapers, and about 20 megs of brainlessly quoted text. FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 9 23 Mar 1998 Networks: Are collections of nodes who have mastered the incredible mentation powers to remember the same sequence of digits. Networks are loosely centred on geographic areas within easy mortar range of each other. Network Coordinators: (see also "Mazola & Bondage") Network Coordinators are selfless individuals who are reluctantly railroaded into wearing a large bullseye on their foreheads for the amusement of grunt sysops who are bored and have already painted the cat. Region: Regions are hard-fought geographic fiefdoms ruled by RCs who are renowned for exchanging grapeshot whenever they fell that their turf is being poached by an adjacent region. Regions are defined in a manner akin to the following (which happens to be Region 12): The region shall encompass that area in Canada lying to the east of the Manitoba border (unless they lower their taxes and sell cheaper beer) and continuing past the welfare states in the Atlantic provinces to whichever dead cod happen to wash up on the beaches of Sable Island. The Region shall also include the Free Republic of Quebec, but only insofar as it does not impinge upon their God-given right to rant endlessly about their contused and paranoid cultural identity. The region shall extend as far northward as the North Pole and proceed to a depth (drilling straight downwards) that includes selected parts of Malaysia. Regional Coordinators: The larval stage of Small Animal Psychologists. These beings are to be humoured and indulged since their are obligated to buy rounds of beer for all sysops at social gatherings. Regional Coordinators can be identified by the horrible sucking noises they make while applying Vulcan lip-locks to the ZC's nether bits. After weeks of sheep and sleep deprivation, these poor souls can be spotted, buck naked in the moonlight, howling for more policy. Technical Standards: A basepoint for launching into some sort of penis-envy type message comparing baud rates, how many terrabytes of online GIFS can be shot through the phone lines, or how some moron has pissed away a small fortune on a Pentium chip so that they can display messages at 14 million times their visual comprehension rate. I mean, let's face it, if you happen to have cute blossooms, nobody is going to give a damn whether your mailer works... in an ideal world, your mail would get hand-delivered. Users: Like, get serious wouldja? Screw 'em if they can't take a joke. ZCs: Self-idolatrous Fido elflords who wake up each morning imbued with the erroneous belief that they know what's good for the network. Other than tossing them a few slabs of raw meat, these individuals should be given adult supervision if they attempt anything more complicated than waking up in the morning. FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 10 23 Mar 1998 4. Official Titles: In this Region, a group of sick minds will choose some relatively innocent soul and propel the poor sucker into the job of Regional Co-ordinator. The Regional Coordinator shall have all the powers biologically granted to bread mold, but otherwise can be safely ignored. The Region shall be hacked up into small fiefdoms, called "Networks" which shall elect mascots, order pizza in bulk quantities, and participate in the annual Node Draft to choose the players for the upcoming Netwar season. Nets will dragoon someone into being the Network Coordinator who will be obliged to either undergo spontaneous human combustion before a full term is served, or else stand for re-election to the particular purgatory for which they are ideally maladapted. Network Coordinators will not be surprised to discover that they commune directly with either God or if they want to sink right to the bottom; to Bob Satti. Network Coordinators are entitled to screech that "they need a really big net." Judging from their post electoral behaviour, most grunt sysops would agree with their appraisal, and might further suggest a cell of the padded variety as well. Any grunt sysop who has stood in the blinding white light of their own ego too long is entitled to pile nine or ten listings of their own number into the nodelist and appoint themselves as Net Coordinator. They will be entitled to exhibit multiple-personality disorderly conduct and pontificate about "what their net wants." Spray misting these lost souls with regular doses of crystal-meth is advised. 5. Elections: Anyone who actually wants a title in Fidonet should be put in a bottle and sent out into the Japanese current. If their lives are so incomplete without the fame of a Fidonet title, then they should be encouraged to get their pictures on milk cartons, but don't elect the poor bastards because they'll inflict bad grammar on you until you lie in a pool of drool, clutching your "I Adore My 64" button, babbling about the good old days when men were men and sheep were not particular. 6. The Netwar Season: The netwar season shall commence nanoseconds after the election of each new Regional Coordinator. A season can be kick-started to a promising beginning by any Regional Coordinator who campaigns on some sort of "peace" platform. Like, nudge nudge, wink wink, we all *deplore* the fights in hockey games, so we'll be sure to take these kind of lame promises just as seriously. (snicker) FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 11 23 Mar 1998 (Incidentally, don't trust any candidate who quotes Arlo Guthrie in "Alices Restaraunt" and says "I wanna kill. I wanna kill. I mean, I wanna see blood and guts and veins in my teeth. I wanna kill. KILL! KILL!" because these are the kind of milquetoasts that probably brake for whales and will screw up a perfectly good netwar season with their puerile sniveling for calm. C'mon, fess up... you tryna tell me that you forked out five grand for a BBS system that was just gonna bring in the DOGTALK echo? At the beginning of each season, grunt sysops will make irrational decisions about who they hate at the moment, and will bounce up and down in their cribs, asking to be picked by their most favoured Network Coordinator. Top draft choices will always be those sysops who are prepared to nitpick the hell out of issue that occurred way back in the late fifties. Network Coordinators should not ignore the "specialty teams" that make netwars so fascinating. Getting one of those tight-assed weenies who quotes every obscenity that comes down the turnpike and then appends some cloacally-challenged moralizing, should be counted as almost as important as the wankers who brag that they are the very first to be running the "new" Fido Version 1.01 software. The latter can be be guaranteed to smoke out some peckerwood who counter-brags that he/she has been running that version for three nanoseconds longer.... under Windows, no less. A truly successful Netwar season can be measured by the logarithmic expansion of new nets, and the number of excitable, intrigue-filled, messages that Zorch and John write. 7. The Stirring Conclusion: Just as this policy document was about to end. Just as Luke in his X-wing fighter was about to drop the Neutron bomb down the exhaust shaft and put this puppy out of it's misery. Just as the Bikersluts were about to perform peculiar ablutions in the lap of the good Rev. Visage. Just as your RETURN button was begging for mercy like some spaghetti flogged, Jesse Hollington -type combination fax machine and gratification device... just at that moment... a rock fungus will burst it's spore pod and some flatlined-on-the-EEG sysop will suggest that "we really oughta have lots more policy." ###30### ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 12 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= WE GET EMAIL ================================================================= Subject: hello Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 19:40:06 +0200 From: "Radu Malica" To: hello i want to get in contact with somebody that can provide me the FidoNet backbone for free, because here in the Region 53 (2:53*/*) we are isolated from the outer Fido. I wish that you post my request in a FidoNews article, or Letter to the Editor, and please, i want to inform you that i can provide the 2:53*/* backbone to romanian people in USA, through Fido2Int and/or e-mail. Thank You. PS: if somebody offers the fidonet backbone for free, please tell him/her to contact me at jokerul@psi.lbi.ro tzeapa@usa.net fidonet@maxutils.com radu.malica@contact.pcnet.ro or at 2:530/139 on the Fidonet. Thank you again Radu Malica, SysOp @ PRODiGY BBS +40-1-627-5454 2:530/139@fidonet.org ###30### ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 13 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= NOTICES ================================================================= Future History 30 Apr 1998 Queens Day, Holland. 17 May 1998 Independence Day, Norway. 22 May 1998 Expo '98 World Exposition in Lisbon (Portugal) opens. 14 Sep 1998 Start of International BBS Week [thru 20 Sep 98]. 22 Sep 1998 First anniversary of the FidoNews domain of www.fidonews.org. 1 Dec 1998 Fifteenth Anniversary of release of Fido version 1 by Tom Jennings. 24 Jul 1999 XIII Pan American Games [through 8 Aug 99]. 31 Dec 1999 Hogmanay, Scotland. The New Year that can't be missed. 1 Jan 2000 The 20th Century, C.E., is still taking place thru 31 Dec. 1 Jun 2000 EXPO 2000 World Exposition in Hannover (Germany) opens. 15 Sep 2000 Sydney (Australia) Summer Olympiad opens. 1 Jan 2001 This is the actual start of the new millennium, C.E. -- If YOU have something which you would like to see in this Future History, please send a note to the FidoNews Editor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 14 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= FIDONEWS PUBLIC-KEY ================================================================= FidoNews PGP Public-Key Listing This must be copied out to a file starting at column 1 or it won't process under PGP as a valid public-key. The same holds true for checking the validity of this issue. -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Democracy Requires A Free And Uncensored Press. mQENAzUDQfgAAAEH/2cZjrzKxinfyk1NRYy2D78JEU8jFx6fvGyisnN2SX+QwRrA AxBbsMuseM3x60SFhHV7r93CxKWJylPCBJKvDazmWwy+vgBr+ZJvl7Ypj/IB4pWS Apngg8cmDH1h5d0VeYNORsuJ2udHZYRezkZ0eeJlaOsJCj5Xu0QImSp++VU/0oB1 6XRoNPy548xq8Qles1pLC8Kw7HU7Vff1WeaU3mPPQeaGZqn2qSAu5t6Z0Bhm27Pq zNaJ+JWNHaLCHlwrRHV+p9bCdfl3u303OxKPne0cSpxfe+gQBTlVta7B14ssgnzQ mnBFhvKWgM7LT105YD3EcWW9IJE1ByNHwo25a3EABRG0D0ZpZG9OZXdzIEVkaXRv cokAlQMFEDUKMDDrSgiY3KJNQQEB16YD/2tYVRC+dxghA/OwIWNH20GvQXw1zgfv cB6r8gYHcczTCqGu5qbjDOTftoBXY9vI3/CZNsSbvp0ibQinpN6zSgyy2+4wwPbu db/VnjXwBByq7ygTpNwQBMsYjs+iyndwTnR90dH3FewsveBCzeqjmP0Y/PJliElw zEmGKxoFr1SM =G82W -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- To verify the content of this issue has not been tampered with, remove the five (5) spaces located at the beginning of each PGP-generated lines on the top and bottom of each issue. Do not remove the spaces from any other lines. File-request FNEWSKEY from 1:1/23 [1:205/1701] or download it from IKVHFoT! BBS at 1-209-251-7529 anytime Zone 1 ZMH at 300-9600+ V34. The FidoNews key is also available on the FidoNews homepage listed in the Masthead information. ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 15 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= FIDONET BY INTERNET ================================================================= This is a list of all FidoNet-related sites reported to the Editor as of this appearance. NOTE: I am looking for a comprehensive list of Telnet, VMODEM, BinkP, Argus and other TCP/IP based nodes operating FidoNet on the InterNet, either by Zone or worldwide, to post here as well. - Ye Editor ============ FidoNet: Homepage http://www.fidonet.org FidoNews http://www.fidonews.org [HTML] http://209.77.228.66/fidonews.html [ASCII] WWW sources http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/students/cs_yr94/lk/fido.html FTSC page http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/ftsc.htm Echomail http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/index.html WebRing http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/fnetring.html [TFN] General Info http://owls.com/~jerrys/fidonet.html ============ Zone 1: http://www.z1.fidonet.org Region 10: http://www.psnw.com/~net205/region10.html Region 11: http://oeonline.com/~garyg/region11/ Region 13: http://www.smalltalkband.com/st01000.htm Region 14: Region 15: Region 16: http://www.tiac.net/users/satins/region16.htm Region 17: http://www.portal.ca/~awalker/region17.htm REC17: http://www.westsound.com/ptmudge/ Region 18: http://techstop.pdn.net/fido/ Region 19: http://www.compconn.net ============ FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 16 23 Mar 1998 Zone 2: http://www.z2.fidonet.org ZEC2: http://www.proteus.demon.co.uk/zec.htm Zone 2 Elist: http://www.fbone.ch/z2_elist/ Region 20: http://www.fidonet.pp.se (in Swedish) Region 23: http://www.fido.dk (in Danish) Region 24: http://www.swb.de/personal/flop/gatebau.html (in German) Region 25: http://www.trak-one.co.uk/net254 Region 27: http://telematique.org/ft/r27.htm Region 29: http://www.rtfm.be/fidonet/ (in French) Region 30: http://www.fidonet.ch (in Swiss?) Region 33: http://www.fidoitalia.net (in Italian) Region 34: http://www.pobox.com/cnb/r34.htm (in Spanish) REC34: http://pobox.com/~chr Region 36: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7207/ Region 38: http://public.st.carnet.hr/~blagi/bbs/adriam.html Region 41: http://www.fidonet.gr (in Greek and English) Region 48: http://www.fidonet.org.pl ============ Zone 3: http://www.z3.fidonet.org ============ Zone 4: (not yet listed) Region 90: Net 904: http://members.tripod.com/~net904 (in Spanish) ============ Zone 5: http://w3.eastcape.co.za/fidonet/index.htm ============ Zone 6: http://www.z6.fidonet.org Region 65: http://www.cfido.com/fidonet/cfidochina.html (China) ============ ----------------------------------------------------------------- FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 17 23 Mar 1998 ================================================================= FIDONEWS INFORMATION ================================================================= ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ------- Editor: Zorch Frezberg Editors Emeritii: Tom Jennings, Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar, Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees, Christopher Baker "FidoNews Editor" FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS 1-209-251-7529, 300/1200/2400/9600/V.34/V.34+ more addresses: Zorch Frezberg -- 1:205/1701, zorch@repairnet.com zorch@fidonews.org zorch@qnis.net zorch@eiv.com zorch@kumr.lns.com (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews Editor P.O. Box 642 Fresno, CA 93709-0642 U.S.A. voice: 1-209-446-9038 [voice mail = 'blind' numbers not returned] ------------------------------------------------------ FidoNews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or their authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. OPINIONS EXPRESSED in these articles ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS and not necessarily those of FidoNews. Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is Copyright 1998 Zorch Frezberg. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the Editor. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 18 23 Mar 1998 OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic form may be obtained from the FidoNews Editor via manual download or file-request, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet. PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above postal address. File-request FIDONEWS for the current Issue. File-request FNEWS for the current month in one archive. Or file-request specific back Issue filenames in distribution format [FNEWSFnn.ZIP] for a particular Issue. Monthly Volumes are available as FNWSmmmy.ZIP where mmm = three letter month [JAN - DEC] and y = last digit of the current year [8], i.e., FNWSJAN8.ZIP for all the Issues from Jan 98. Annual volumes are available as FNEWSn.ZIP where n = the Volume number 1 - 15 for 1984 - 1998, respectively. Annual Volume archives range in size from 48K to 1.4M. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via: http://www.fidonews.org http://www.fidonet.org/fidonews.htm ftp://ftp.fidonet.org/pub/fidonet/fidonews/ ftp://ftp.aminet.org/pub/aminet/comm/fido/ ftp://ftp.irvbbs.com/fidonews/ *=*=* You may obtain an email subscription to FidoNews by sending email to: jbarchuk@worldnet.att.net with a Subject line of: subscribe fnews-edist and no message in the message body. To remove your name from the email distribution use a Subject line of: unsubscribe fnews-edist with no message to the same address above. * You may retrieve current and previous Issues of FidoNews via FTPMail by sending email to: ftpmail@fidonews.org with a Subject line of: help and FTPMail will immediately send a reply containing details and instructions. When you actually make a file request, FTPMail will respond in three stages. You find a link for this process on www.fidonews.org. *=*=* You can read the current FidoNews Issue in HTML format at: http://www.fidonews.org STAR SOURCE for ALL Past Issues via FTP and file-request - Available for FReq from 1:396/1 or by anonymous FTP from: ftp://ftp.sstar.com/fidonet/fnews/ Each yearly archive also contains a listing of the Table-of-Contents for that year's issues. The total set is currently about 13 Megs. =*=*=*= FIDONEWS 15-12 Page 19 23 Mar 1998 The current week's FidoNews and the FidoNews public-key are now also available almost immediately after publication on the FidoNews Editor homepage on the World Wide Web at: http://209.77.228.66/fidonews.html There are also links there to jim barchuk's HTML FidoNews source and to John Souvestre's FTP site for the archives. There is also an email link for sending in an article as message text. Drop on over. =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= A PGP generated public-key is available for the FidoNews Editor from 1:1/23 [1:205/1701] by file-request for FNEWSKEY or by download from IKVHFoT! BBS at 1-209-251-7529 as FIDONEWS.ASC in File Area X. It is also posted twice a month into the PKEY_DROP Echo available on the Zone 1 Echomail Backbone. *=*=*=*=* SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews Editor, or file-requestable from 1:1/23 [1:205/1701] as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". ALL Zone Coordinators also have copies of ARTSPEC.DOC. Please read it. "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, P.O. Box 410923, San Francisco, CA 94141, and are used with permission. "Disagreement is actually necessary, or we'd all have to get in fights or something to amuse ourselves and create the requisite chaos." -Tom Jennings ### -30- ### --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Democracy Requires A Free And Uncensored Press. iQEVAwUBNRXP1gcjR8KNuWtxAQFyrAf+Jau5+ZxMPXyw0fNSc88iuAlV9MzhgsMa fNuE5wsLx6MqYMamYSWrajIM1aQOBYJSc9O6lT2qTqmYDOVgCNYxQ2ggVfH951Sm RdacMLuLF1raUuz2oNc+kuFpPGqxBJyBg1O+D9NyGPvuikcyMC7wtIMzsJavDQkS 59MoU5WGrOOwQgLIUaNTi9Kbfa/+YKH5cc6TExpQ/mETgnzHd+LLWaRAluqvpnk+ sSO6j6k8l5l7hFKVgNG9kYvZu6z0vhiNX47s4WG+Pal5OzvdnMeiNtYvQXH7Ckku ZVd+h6JYritIPlQZaFol0Zlv3ewEhpbUqZ/gZIpX2MBP2WpVg6wqqA== =7ETj -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----